84 Transactions. 



The " human form divine " has not been overlooked. Here is an 

 example which has the iino^ers for subject : — 



What is't that never was and never will be, 



I hae't in my han' tae let ye see ? 



Ans. — The fingers all one length. 



This riddle seems to have been modelled upon a '' Demand Joyous " 

 type, for in that curious collection we have the following : — 



Demand. — What is it that never was and never will be ? 



Response. — A mouse's nest in a cat's ear. 



Opinions will probably differ as to the merits of the two examples. 

 The following on the teeth, although defective in point of accuracy, 

 is excellent in other respects : — 



Four-and-twenty white kye 



Standin' at a stall, 

 Oot cam' the reid bull 



And licked ower them all. 

 Ans. — The teeth licked by the tongue. 



Sometimes a higher flight is attempted. Take this, for example : — 

 Doon in yon meadow grows a bunch o' willow wands ; 

 Naebody can count them but God's ain hands. 

 Ans. — The hairs of the head. 



The sun, the moon, frost, snow, and other natural phenomena, 

 occupy a prominent place in the folk-riddle. We content ourselves 

 with a single example, and it is selected chiefly on account of 

 its seasonableness : — 



Hickerty-pickerty pinned the yett, 



Hickerty-pickerty pinned it weel ; 

 Hickerty-pickerty pinned the yett, 

 Withoot aither crn or steel. 

 Ans. — Frost. 

 Abstract subjects are rarely chosen, but we know of one exception 

 so excellent we could have wished for more. This is how the 

 poignancy of hunger is depicted : — 



As I went ower ayont yon dyke, 

 I fun a wee pen-knife ; 

 It could kill a hare, it could kill a bear, 

 It could kill a hunner men an' mair. 

 Ans. — Hunger. 



I have thus glanced at a few lingering examples of the folk- 

 riddle. My gleanings may not contain much that is new, but 

 they may help to direct attention to a subject which, although 



